This March 11, 2014, photo shows Mickey, a pit bull, at West Valley Animal Care Center in Phoenix, Ariz. Mickey attacked four-year-old Kevin Vicente on Feb. 20, 2014.
This Feb. 2014, photo provided by Flor Medrano shows Kevin Vicente in Phoenix, Ariz. Four-year-old Kevin Vicente’s road to recovery after a dog mauling on Feb. 20, 2014, which left him with a broken eye socket and jaw, and the boy has months, if not years, of reconstructive surgery ahead of him.PHOENIX – A Phoenix judge on Tuesday spared the life of a pit bull that mauled a 4-year-old boy last month and touched off a polarizing Internet debate on mercy, blame and animal violence.
Municipal Court Judge Deborah Griffin ruled that the dog named Mickey must be neutered, defanged and microchipped. She declared the dog vicious earlier in the day and could have ordered euthanasia.
“There would be absolutely no possibility of the animal ever doing this to someone again,” Griffin said, saying the dog must remain in a facility for the rest of its life and can’t be adopted.
The Lexus Project, a New York-based animal rights group and the dog’s trustee, has 30 days to find a rehabilitation center or shelter to take Mickey. An animal advocate in court started to cry when hearing the dog would live.
The Feb. 20 attack left Kevin Vicente with a broken eye socket and jaw, and the boy has months, if not years, of reconstructive surgery ahead of him.